Remembering Sun and Sand...and...

Well we are home again and not we have to try to get back into the swing of things...work...ugggh!
It will help a little to remember all the wonderful times we had in Greece with sun, sand and food along with the interesting places we visited.
To help keep all those memories alive we have posted all the links to the places we visited and the routes we drove, the hotels where we stayed, and the restaurants where ate and some of the most wonderful sites...all of this is located on the permanent Greece Again! page at the sideline.
Check it out!
Greece 2012

We've been ruined!

These are the last days of our trip to Greece and we have done a complete circle of the country taking in as many ancient sites we could possibly find (gotta love GPS). We have had a few mis-steps, missed roads, and even a few back tracks (not many). We have used maps, GPS, google and plain dead reckoning to get where we are going. We have not had to cancel any hotel reservation due to an inability to find the place. Only one cancellation by choice not chance.

 What we loved the most was that both of us have (from a very early age) loved the mythology of Greece, are both very interested in archeology, and we love trying new food!

These characteristics have been a saving grace as we meandered our way up and down mountains, along valleys, and plateaus, and through tiny village streets. We always had in mind the next ancient location, the next palace, the next cultural mystery...to encourage us and keep us on track. The roads have been challenging and the vistas have ranged from the breathtaking to the sublime! Sunrises and sunsets...


We have relaxed with good books and each other! We have eaten some interesting combinations of dishes that may have otherwise gone untried. We have made a few friends and have some idea of the places where we will return. We have found nooks and crannies of peace in a world of hectic noise and enjoyed just being.

It seems the ruins and food of Greece have ruined us and we will return for more of the same!

Brown as a Berry...full as an egg!

We have a couple of sayings in Newfoundland that fit this situation perfectly... I am as brown as a berry and as full as an egg...Now one might ask... what does this mean?

Well, now let me explain... last night after dinner Don asked if I wanted to get some ice cream...usually the answer would be a resounding yes!

But, I am as full as an egg...which means that I cannot eat anything more...he continues with... but ice cream just fills in the coners! That's when the fight began...no just kidding. I said I am full as an egg (round rather than oval) I don't have corners anymore!

The days relaxing and site-seeing have been all sunny and I have not been adverse to keeping the companies who produce sun block in business! So, even though I have kept up with the sun block I am quite brown...as a berry!

Old sayings come in handy some times to explain the unexplainable...as in why someone would not want ice cream!

Don and the Lamborghini

Well we did not expect that Don would have the opportunity to see let alone sit in the seat and drive a Lamborghini...

When we drove up to our hotel in a very small town (about 100 people) called Tsoutsouros we parked right next to a Lamborghini...Dons eyes nearly popped out of his head. He said our loud "I wonder who owns that?"

Well, we went for our swim, went for dinner, went to town...and when we returned the Lamborghini was still there. Maybe the hotel owner owns the Lamborghini?

Don frets over this all night!

The next morning the two older people sitting on the front porch of the hotel say hello as we go for a morning swim...they are friendly and happy! As we come back to the hotel Don is wondering if he should ask them who owns the Lamborghini...and then out of no where he asks...and they wave him to it and say go ahead sit, sit...he asks for a picture...I am quite purple by this time...they say yes, yes go ahead take pictures!!!!!

So, here it is ...Don driving the Lamborghini...

 

Olive trees and .... have never seen so many!

Greece is a wonderful country full of richness and fruit of every description. We have seen olive trees (forests) everywhere we went. We have also seen oranges, figs, plums, pears, apples, peaches, apricots, grapes (of course) and yesterday bananas... I expected a lot of fruit trees but not ....

greenhouses!

The country is warm most of the year so why the towns of greenhouses? The growing season here is most likely two or even three crops per year. I was amazed at how many greenhouses there are in many places in Greece from north to south...literally greenhouse landscape the size of fairly large towns. Actually larger than some towns here...

 

But then there are always the olive groves...nicely laid out against the harshest of landscapes... this is Greece!

 

Tie up your dogs and let your goats run wild!

On mainland Greece we noticed many times that there were many places where the sheep or goats were watched very carefully by herd dogs...not the ordinary Sheppard we are used to but very large white and black colored dogs that mingled freely with the sheep or goats.  Greek Sheep dog
We were told that a farmer or goat/sheep herder would count the dogs at the end of the day not the goats or sheep. If there was a dog missing it meant that the dog was guarding a missing sheep or goat. The dog will not leave the goat or sheep alone at night. The dogs are raised with the sheep/goats and protect them staunchly.

But, here on the Island of Crete we have seen a number of large herds of goats just running wild with no person and no dogs guarding them! We wondered about this and then we saw that there were dogs tied up at homes and workshops. So, here on Crete the dogs do not guard the animals but are tied up and the animals run wild. Interesting! We will watch to see if this changes...
Well today we did see more goats and sheep on the road but they were fenced into pastures...but still no dogs guarding them.
We have now learned from a few conversations that the herders let the sheep graze up on the mountains and take their dogs out to bring them in... I guess there are no predators here on Crete (other than humans).
 

Up the mountain...down the mountain...to the sea

Day 20 Stavros to Plakias via southern route

Well I think we did the most switchbacks today than ever before. We counted 27 switchbacks and 37 big curves getting from the top of a mountain to the ocean at the bottom. The road in most places was only one car wide and the car coming up the hill had to wait for the car coming down the hill to make the turn before it proceeded around the turn...

The shoreline here is very rugged with a lot of rock and jagged cliffs. But, the sea is like a song with the waves crashing melodically on the shore just meters from our patio door! The deep blue Aegean waters are stunningly bright with the whitecaps rolling toward the shore and breaking on the large black rocks.

 

The power went out in the entire town of Plakias as we were walking from the Taverna where we ate dinner back to the hotel tonight. We had a wonderful medley of samplings of Cretan food at the Sophia resturant.

You are wondering (no doubt) why so many times the food is half eaten before we take a picture...simple answer...it looks so good we forget to take the picture first! I am getting better at remembering the picture but Don still digs in to the food first!

So, we had nothing to do but star watch...Don pulled a big, thick blanket from the cabinet , took the pillows from the bed and put it all out on the balcony. We laid there and watched the stars moving across the dark velvet sky with no lights to be seen at all! It was pure magic....not something that will be easily forgotten.